Kifles (Nut Rolls or Horns)

Miss Erin's Note:

This is from the Ellis Island Immigrant Cookbook.

• Total Time: 1 hrs
• Prep Time: 45 mins
• Cook Time: 15 mins

Ingredients:

Yield: 80 Kifles

Dough

• 4 cups flour
• 2 (¼ ounce) envelopes yeast
• 1 cup butter
• 4 egg yolks , save whites
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1 cup powdered sugar
• ½ cup granulated sugar

Filling

• 2 cups ground nuts
• 1 cup sugar
• 4 egg whites , stiffly beaten
• 1 teaspoon vanilla

Directions:

1. Combine nuts, sugar and vanilla.
2. Fold in egg whites; set aside.
3. Put flour into a large bowl.
4. Add the yeast to the egg yolks in a small bowl and let soften.
5. Cut butter into the flour until crumbly.
6. Add egg yolks and yeast and sour cream.
7. Mix well until it forms a smooth ball.
8. Form into 10 balls and chill.
9. Mix 1 cup granulated and 1 cup powdered sugar.
10. On counter top, sprinkle a spoonful of sugar mixture, place 1 ball on the sugar, add more sugar on top, roll out ball Roll until dough is 1/8-inch thick, forming a circle.
11. Cut the circle into 8 pie-shaped wedges.
12. Fill the wide end of each wedge with 1 level teaspoon of filling.
13. Roll from wide end to the point.
14. Continue with all the balls.
15. Place on greased cookie sheets.
16. Bake at 325°F for 15 minutes.

Reviews

[Katie Connolly]

I've been baking these cookies all my life. The yeast is not meant to dissolve fully. And as the nut mixture rises and expands when you bake it, changing it's texture to "spreading consistancy" would likely ruin the delicate and delicious finished product.

[Karen=^..^=]

Excellent kifle recipe...thanks for posting! This couldn't be easier to follow and directions and bake time were right on. I did add the grated rind of one lemon to the dough and a tbl of lemon juice to the filling, because my Grandmother used these in her kifles and that's what I was trying to duplicate. Note: The filling does expand, so be sure to roll these up loosely! Thanks again ;)

[skr]

These were good & well-received at a church function. I'd suggest dissolving the yeast in a tiny bit of water with 1 tsp. sugar, since it didn't dissolve completely into the dough. Also, the stiff egg whites made the nut mixture quite runny (did the Ellis Island immigrants have mixers?)Next time I would add unbeaten egg whites slowly until the mixture is a good spreading consistency. These were similar to nut horns my aunts made many years ago in Cleveland using Hungarian recipes.